Henry's groin improving ahead of LA clash

Thierry Henry said after practice on Thursday that his injured groin is feeling better and that he anticipates being available for selection on Saturday against the LA Galaxy.

The Red Bulls’ striker played just 45 minutes in Wednesday night’s 1-0 win over Toronto, three days after coming off in the first half of last Sunday’s draw in Chicago.

“We didn’t want to take a risk,” Henry said.

Before the Toronto match, Henry talked with the Red Bulls coaching staff, and they agreed to limit his minutes on Wednesday. But there are plans for him to play more minutes on Saturday in the marquee match against Los Angeles.

“Could be 45 to 60 [minutes],” head coach Hans Backe said. The Red Bulls’ coach said that he hopes to have Henry available for the full 90 minutes in the away match at Toronto.

“[He] responded well,” Backe said of Henry and the groin. “That’s a good sign.”

Kristian Dyer is a reporter for MLSSoccer.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs. He can be reached for comment at KristianRDyer@yahoo.com and followed at twitter.com/kdyer1012